# Why didn't the dynamic pricing system in CS work? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680 "2009-12-17T22:33:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/1 "2009-12-17T22:33:29Z")
I quit playing Counter-Strike before they added it, but I wonder, what was so bad about it? Makes sense to increase the price of the weapons that are bought all the time and lower the prices of the ones no one buys. What happened? ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/2 "2009-12-17T22:50:05Z")
When was that even attempted? I’ve been playing CS, CZ and CS:S since CS 1.5. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/3 "2009-12-17T22:54:45Z")
Late 2006. No one wanted to use the crappy weapons and didn’t want a system that encouraged them to use those weapons. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/4 "2009-12-17T23:24:28Z")
Sounds like a good idea to me. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/5 "2009-12-17T23:33:18Z")
I have to imagine that anyone still playing CS in 2006 was not really someone who wanted the game to get changed up on them. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/6 "2009-12-17T23:37:41Z")
From what I recall, body armor, helmets, and bomb defusal kits went through the roof. Night vision goggles got super-cheap, but no one bought those anyway. There weren’t separate markets for pistols, rifles, and sniper rifles, and the prices weren’t dynamic enough to control for demand on a map by map or game basis. A good pistol was far more expensive than an average rifle or sniper rifle, and the dynamic pricing was on/off instead of customizable. I remember hating it, especially because it made me change my defaults. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/7 "2009-12-18T00:41:10Z")
One problem that I recall was that while servers could opt out of the market pricing the demand would still be reported. So the guys buying the desired weapons on servers without the price balancing were driving up the prices on servers where they were. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-dynamic-pricing-system-in-cs-work/521680/8 "2009-12-18T02:06:34Z")
> [@AdmiralCrunch](#): > > From what I recall, body armor, helmets, and bomb defusal kits went through the roof. Night vision goggles got super-cheap, but no one bought those anyway. There weren’t separate markets for pistols, rifles, and sniper rifles, and the prices weren’t dynamic enough to control for demand on a map by map or game basis. A good pistol was far more expensive than an average rifle or sniper rifle, and the dynamic pricing was on/off instead of customizable. I remember hating it, especially because it made me change my defaults. Did AKs and M4s sore past AWPs in price?